Hank Aaron, the immortal home run hitter for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, died earlier this year (on January 22, 2021) of natural causes. Aaron was one of my boyhood idols mainly because he was one of the stars of the Braves in 1957 who defeated the dreaded New York Yankees in the World Series. When I was about 10 years old, I and my neighborhood friends were fans of the only sport that mattered back in the late 50s and early 60s: Baseball. And the Braves were our favorite team with Aaron and Eddie Mathews being our favorite players. We collected baseball cards and I wish I still had Aaron's card from 1960 but unfortunately, I must have traded it away at some point.
Every year during October and the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, I have tried to read something about baseball. This year, given the sad news of Aaron's death plus the fact that the Atlanta Braves are in the playoffs (they currently lead the Dodgers 3-2 and need only one more win to get into the World Series against the Houston Astros), I decided to read Aaron's autobiography that I have had in my collection for several years.
This book was published in 1991 and gives a great accounting of Aaron's long career in baseball as well as his work and activities since he retired in 1976. I remember reading a juvenile biography of Aaron (The Hank Aaron Story by Milton Shapiro) back in junior high school in the 60s. About the only thing I remember from this bio was that Aaron worked on an ice wagon when he was young which helped develop and strengthen his wrists. (I also have a copy of this old biography which I plan on rereading). Indeed, Aaron does mention working on an ice wagon in his autobiography so I guess my memory isn't totally shot! Aaron's story includes his growing up in Mobile, Alabama, and always wanting to play baseball. He eventually gets his chance by playing for the Indianapolis Clowns of the old Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 which paved the way for Aaron and others into the big leagues. He was eventually signed by the Braves and played in their farm leagues, debuting in Milwaukee in 1954. He joined some great players on the Braves including Eddie Mathews, Del Crandall, Warren Spahn, and others. In 1957, Aaron hit a home run that put the Braves into the world series which they won against the Yankees. They returned to the series in 1958 but unfortunately could not repeat as champions. Aaron was never in another series. But he continued with his great play and of course in 1974, he exceeded Babe Ruth's all time record for home runs with his 715th. He eventually hit 755 of them setting the records until it was bested by Barry Bonds. The Braves had moved to Atlanta when Aaron was in pursuit of Ruth and surprisingly he received loads of hate mail with racist comments wanting him to retire and give up his quest for the record. This did not deter Aaron, even when his life was sometimes threatened. He went on to finish his career with some of the best stats ever including a batting average of .305, 3,771 hits, 2,297 RBIs, and 6,856 total bases which is still the major league record.
Throughout Aaron's career, although he was a reserved and quiet individual, he pursued equal rights for blacks and other minorities in the game of baseball. When he was a player back in the 50s and early 60s, Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Aaron and other blacks could not eat at the same restaurants or stay at the same hotels as the white players. This was an incentive for him to be active in the civil rights movement and trying to help blacks in baseball. He was disappointed that blacks were not made managers or put in positions within team organizations. Frank Robinson eventually was made manager of the Cleveland Indians but up until the writing of his biography, Aaron was still fighting for minority positions in baseball. Aaron himself was put into a high position within the Atlanta organization after Ted Turner bought the team but it was a long time coming.
I really enjoyed this biography of Aaron and I'm hoping the Braves make it to the World Series this year (they have a history of choking in recent years). I'll probably be reading some other baseball bios in the meantime. Go Braves!!
Every year during October and the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, I have tried to read something about baseball. This year, given the sad news of Aaron's death plus the fact that the Atlanta Braves are in the playoffs (they currently lead the Dodgers 3-2 and need only one more win to get into the World Series against the Houston Astros), I decided to read Aaron's autobiography that I have had in my collection for several years.
This book was published in 1991 and gives a great accounting of Aaron's long career in baseball as well as his work and activities since he retired in 1976. I remember reading a juvenile biography of Aaron (The Hank Aaron Story by Milton Shapiro) back in junior high school in the 60s. About the only thing I remember from this bio was that Aaron worked on an ice wagon when he was young which helped develop and strengthen his wrists. (I also have a copy of this old biography which I plan on rereading). Indeed, Aaron does mention working on an ice wagon in his autobiography so I guess my memory isn't totally shot! Aaron's story includes his growing up in Mobile, Alabama, and always wanting to play baseball. He eventually gets his chance by playing for the Indianapolis Clowns of the old Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 which paved the way for Aaron and others into the big leagues. He was eventually signed by the Braves and played in their farm leagues, debuting in Milwaukee in 1954. He joined some great players on the Braves including Eddie Mathews, Del Crandall, Warren Spahn, and others. In 1957, Aaron hit a home run that put the Braves into the world series which they won against the Yankees. They returned to the series in 1958 but unfortunately could not repeat as champions. Aaron was never in another series. But he continued with his great play and of course in 1974, he exceeded Babe Ruth's all time record for home runs with his 715th. He eventually hit 755 of them setting the records until it was bested by Barry Bonds. The Braves had moved to Atlanta when Aaron was in pursuit of Ruth and surprisingly he received loads of hate mail with racist comments wanting him to retire and give up his quest for the record. This did not deter Aaron, even when his life was sometimes threatened. He went on to finish his career with some of the best stats ever including a batting average of .305, 3,771 hits, 2,297 RBIs, and 6,856 total bases which is still the major league record.
Throughout Aaron's career, although he was a reserved and quiet individual, he pursued equal rights for blacks and other minorities in the game of baseball. When he was a player back in the 50s and early 60s, Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Aaron and other blacks could not eat at the same restaurants or stay at the same hotels as the white players. This was an incentive for him to be active in the civil rights movement and trying to help blacks in baseball. He was disappointed that blacks were not made managers or put in positions within team organizations. Frank Robinson eventually was made manager of the Cleveland Indians but up until the writing of his biography, Aaron was still fighting for minority positions in baseball. Aaron himself was put into a high position within the Atlanta organization after Ted Turner bought the team but it was a long time coming.
I really enjoyed this biography of Aaron and I'm hoping the Braves make it to the World Series this year (they have a history of choking in recent years). I'll probably be reading some other baseball bios in the meantime. Go Braves!!
